A Refreshed Mark Martin Wins Pole For Food City 500 At Bristol Motor Speedway

Mark Martin, one of the most passionate and dedicated racers in NASCAR, took a rare break from the grind recently. After visiting his Hendrick Motorsports team on March 10, Martin went home to decompress and get his mind off what has been a lackluster start to the 2009 season.

By: Allen Gregory | TriCities.com
Published: March 21, 2009

BRISTOL. Tenn. – Mark Martin, one of the most passionate and dedicated racers in NASCAR, took a rare break from the grind recently.

After visiting his Hendrick Motorsports team on March 10, Martin went home to decompress and get his mind off what has been a lackluster start to the 2009 season.

“I spent the time with Arlene [Martin’s wife] and the family and didn’t do anything or go anywhere,” Martin said after Friday’s Food City 500 qualifying session. “And for me, somehow or another, it eventually cleansed my disappointment and I came up here today with optimism.
“We’re going to keep pounding until we get some great, great results. This is fun.”

Haunted by two engine failures, the 50-year-old Martin is mired in the 34th spot in the Sprint Cup standings.

Martin shook off that frustration Friday by earning his second straight pole position with a lap of 15.256-seconds at 125.773-miles per hour. Martin went 257 races before qualifying first at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
Ryan Newman Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top three qualifiers Friday.

“It’s such a pleasure to drive that car,” said Martin, who gave credit to his crew. “They’re hitting the race track with great, great set-ups based on learning about what I like in the race car and everything.
“We’ve got speed and the other part is going to turn around sooner or later, the luck part. But it’s nice. We’ve got a great race team.”

During his post qualifying press conference, Martin downplayed a recent headline that indicated he would return as a full-time driver next season instead of following through on his original plans for a part-time role at the Hendrick organization.

“That’s way too premature,” Martin said. “Sometimes when you dig for a scoop, really, really hard, you come up with something that just isn’t ready yet.
“I did say that I love what I’m doing and I’m not ready to quit. I could be anywhere in the world today on a beach. Anywhere. This is where I want to be. I’m very happy to be here.”

Perhaps no driver was more encouraged by his qualifying effort than Johnson. Despite winning three straight Cup championships, Johnson has struggled to find success at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Johnson said he prepared for the Food City 500 by studying his previous performances at BMS.

“I really did study those tapes and tried to do everything that I could to come up here and do my part,” Johnson said. “I think that the most useful time getting prepared for this weekend was spent with my crew chief (Chad Knaus) and our race engineer Greg Ives, and really pinpointed the track.
“There’s a little bit of work needed there, but we’re much closer than we’ve ever been at the start of practice. So we’re very excited about this weekend.”

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earned the No. 35 starting position.
Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield were the only two drivers failing to qualify. Michael Waltrip, who wrecked in practice, qualified 21st in a backup car.

agregory@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2544.